Protective helmet with novel chin-strap system

ABSTRACT

A protective helmet with a dome having a bottom edge. A chin-strap system comprises a rigid right arm and a rigid left arm. Each has an attachment portion fastened to a respective side of the dome and a substantially horizontal portion projecting forwardly from the attachment portion. A reception space is formed between the bottom edge of the dome and an arm for receiving an ear of the user of the protective helmet. The reception space is open towards the front and is defined, towards the back and downwardly, by the arm under consideration and upwardly by the bottom edge of the dome. A flexible strip is fastened between the two front ends of the arms.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of protective helmets, in particular for horse riders.

TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

The PCT application published under the number WO 2005/105231 A1 describes a protective helmet provided with a conventional chin-strap system comprising a flexible strap for passing under the chin of the user, being attached to the helmet on either side by two intermediate straps arranged in V-shapes so as to pass on either side of an ear of the user.

Other helmets reflecting the technological background are also described in the following documents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,901 A, EP 1 541 047 A1, US 2016/174647 A1, KR 2013/0084060 A, et DE 94 19 223 U1.

Nevertheless, a major drawback of those various chin-strap systems lies in failure to provide good protection in the event of an impact on the side. Specifically, under such circumstances, the impact is absorbed solely by the bottom edge of the helmet situated above the ear. Thus, the ear is likely to be injured. Also, in the event of the helmet pivoting forwards, the intermediate straps situated behind the ears can stretch and pass over the ears, thereby leading to the protective helmet being ejected.

An object of the invention is to remedy the above drawbacks, at least in part.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To this end, there is provided a protective helmet, comprising:

-   -   a dome presenting a bottom edge; and     -   a chin-strap system;

wherein the chin-strap system comprises:

-   -   a rigid right arm and a rigid left arm, each comprising:         -   an attachment portion fastened to a respective side of the             dome; and         -   a substantially horizontal portion projecting forwards from             the attachment portion at a distance from the bottom edge of             the dome and presenting a front end that is free;

so as to form a reception space between the bottom edge of the dome and the arm under consideration for receiving an ear of the user of the protective helmet, the reception space being open towards the front and being defined, towards the back and downwards, by the arm under consideration, and upwards by the bottom edge of the dome; and

-   -   a flexible strap fastened between the two front ends of the         arms.

By means of the invention, the ear is surrounded behind, above, and below by elements that are rigid, thereby enabling side impacts to be absorbed and protecting the user's ear, at least in part. Also, the rigid arms have little chance of passing over the ears in the event of the protective helmet pivoting forwards.

Optionally, the substantially horizontal portion has a horizontal length of at least 40 millimeters (mm), and all along its horizontal length it lies at least 40 mm away from the bottom edge of the dome.

Also optionally, the reception space presents a height of at least 60 mm at the front.

Also optionally, each arm presents a front edge that is concave towards the front with a length of at least 50 mm and having a radius of curvature that varies at most by 1 mm per millimeter along the front edge.

Also optionally, the attachment portion separates into a front branch and a back branch that are fastened to the dome respectively in a back fastening zone and in a front fastening zone, which zones are spaced apart from each other.

Also optionally, the dome comprises:

-   -   a rigid outer shell;     -   a shock-absorber layer arranged inside the outer shell;     -   a rigid inner shell arranged inside the shock-absorber layer;         and     -   padding arranged inside the inner shell.

Also optionally, the strap is made of leather and/or of fabric, e.g. a nylon fabric.

Also optionally, the protective helmet complies with the standard: EN 1384 2016 06 14: Helmets for equestrian activities.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a side view of a protective helmet of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the FIG. 1 helmet.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are side views of other protective helmets of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the description and the following claims, directional terms (such as “horizontally”, “front”, “vertical”, “height”, etc.) refer to the front-back (F-B), up-down (U-D), and right-left (R-L) directions usually associated with a protective helmet, e.g. when it is in position covering the surface for protecting of the headform specified in the standard EN 1384 2016 06 14: Helmets for equestrian activities.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a protective helmet 100 of the invention is described below. The protective helmet 100 is intended in particular to be worn by a rider, e.g. in the context of equestrian activities. Preferably, the protective helmet complies with the standard: EN 1384 2016 06 14: Helmets for equestrian activities.

The protective helmet 100 includes firstly a dome 102 designed to cover the head of the rider.

The dome 102 comprises a main body 104 having a bottom edge 105. The bottom edge 105 thus forms a bottom peripheral outline of the dome 102. The main body 104 comprises a rigid outer shell 106, a shock-absorber layer 108 arranged inside the outer shell 106, a rigid inner shell 110 arranged inside the shock-absorber layer 108, and padding 112 arranged inside the inner shell 110. Thus, the shock-absorber layer 108 is interposed between the outer shell 106 and the inner shell 110.

The dome 102 also has a peak 114 projecting forwards from the main body 104. In the example described, the peak 114 is in material continuity with the outer shell 106, so that together they form a single piece.

The protective helmet 100 also includes a chin-strap system.

The chin-strap system 116 comprises rigid right and left arms 118 and 120 that lie respectively under right and left sides of the dome 102.

Each of the right and left arms 118 and 120 firstly includes an attachment portion 122 fastened to a respective side of the dome 102. In the example described, the attachment portion 122 separates into a front branch 124 and a back branch 126 that are fastened to the dome 102 respectively in a back fastening zone and in a front fastening zone, which zones are spaced apart from each other. The front branch 124 and the back branch 126 thus cooperate with the bottom edge 105 of the dome 102 to define a side opening 128. Also, in the example described, the attachment portion 122 is fastened to the outer shell 106 of the dome 102 by rivets, e.g. one rivet per branch 124, 126. Also, in the example described, the back branches 126 meet each other before reaching the dome 102. Furthermore, additional padding 129 is provided on the insides of the back branches 126.

Each of the right and left arms 118 and 120 includes a substantially horizontal portion 130 projecting forwards from the attachment portion 122 at a distance from the bottom edge 105 of the dome 102, and presenting a front end 132 that is free. Thus, a reception space 134 for receiving an ear of the rider is arranged between the bottom edge 105 of the dome 102 and the arm 118, 120 under consideration. This reception space 134 is open towards the front, and it is defined, towards the back and downwards, by the arm 118, 120 under consideration, and upwards by the bottom edge 105 of the dome 102.

The substantially horizontal portion 130 has a horizontal length of at least 40 mm, and all along its horizontal length it lies at least 40 mm away from the bottom edge 105 of the dome 102. In FIG. 1, reference 135 designates a square space having a height of 40 mm and a length of 40 mm that serves to evaluate the size of the reception space 134.

Preferably, the reception space 134 presents an opening having a height H with a value of at least 60 mm. This height H is situated between the front end 132 and the bottom edge 105 of the dome 102.

Thus, with the above dimensions, the reception space 134 is capable of receiving the rider's ear comfortably.

Each arm 118, 120 presents a front edge 136 (identified by a double-headed arrow extending along its length), which is concave towards the front, having a length of at least 50 mm, and having a radius of curvature that varies at most by 1 mm per millimeter along its length. Preferably, the radius of curvature varies continuously, more preferably in linear manner. Thus, forces are well distributed along each of the arms 118, 120, thereby improving their strength.

The chin-strap system 116 further includes a flexible strap 138 fastened between the two ends 132 of the arms 118 and 120. By way of example, the strap 138 is made of leather and/or of fabric, e.g. a nylon fabric. In the example described, the strap 138 has one end permanently fastened to the end of one of the arms 118, 120, and another end that is attached to the front end of the other arm by an attachment device 140 enabling the length of the strap 138 to be adjusted.

It should be understood that the materials used for the arms 118, 120 are adapted to the shape of the arms, so that the protective helmet 100 withstands the impact tests that are in force. In the example described, the arms 118, 120 are made of a stack of the following fabric layers going from the inside towards the outside: a carbon fabric, two Kevlar fabrics, two fiberglass fabrics, two Kevlar fabrics, and a carbon fabric. Each fabric presents a thickness of about 0.2 mm, such that the arms 118, 120 have a thickness lying in the range 1 mm to 2 mm, e.g. 1.6 mm.

For example, the impact tests may comprise one or more of those defined in the standard EN 1384 2016 06 14: Helmets for equestrian activities.

To summarise, according to that standard, during a first test, the protective helmet 102 is placed on a dummy head in compliance with the standard EN960, and a vertical force is applied upwards suddenly to the top of the protective helmet 102. This force is at least 480 N. The protective helmet is designed so that, following the application of this force, the dynamic extension of the protective helmet 102 (i.e. the maximum distance travelled by the top of the protective helmet 102 after application of the force), including possible sliding of the attachment system 140, does not exceed 35 mm, and the residual extension does not exceed 25 mm. After the test, once the attachment device 140 is not under load, it must be possible to undo it manually.

During a second test, the helmet is pivoted forwards and it is verified that it remains on the headform. The chin-strap system 116 withstands this test better than the above-mentioned conventional chin-strap system, where the intermediate strap behind the ear can stretch and pass over the ear so that the helmet comes off the head. In contrast, because of their rigidity, the arms 118, 120 have little chance of deforming and passing over the rider's ear.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show protective helmets 100 of the invention that have arms 118, 120 of other shapes.

From the above description, it can be seen that a protective helmet 100 of the invention enables the rider's ear to be protected, at least in part.

It will also be understood that the presence of the two branches 124, 126 makes it possible to achieve a pivoting effect about the front branch 124, thereby making it possible to reduce the stresses on the front edge 136, by causing a fraction of the stresses to be taken up by the back of the protective helmet 102 by means of the back branch 126. Also, the presence of the side opening 128 makes it possible to save weight so as to make the protective helmet 102 lighter.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but on the contrary is defined by the following claims. It is clear to the person skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto.

Furthermore, the terms used in the claims must not be understood as being limited to elements of the above-described embodiment, but must on the contrary be understood as covering any equivalent elements that can be deduced from the general knowledge of the person skilled in the art.

REFERENCES

-   100 protective helmet -   102 dome -   104 main body -   105 bottom edge -   106 outer shell -   108 shock-absorber layer -   110 inner shell -   112 padding -   114 peak -   116 chin-strap system -   118 right arm -   120 left arm -   122 attachment portion -   124 front branch -   126 back branch -   128 side opening -   129 additional padding -   130 substantially horizontal portion -   132 front end -   134 reception space -   135 square space -   136 front edge -   138 strap -   140 attachment device 

1. A protective helmet (100), comprising: a dome (102) presenting a bottom edge (105); and a chin-strap system (116); wherein the chin-strap system (116) comprises: a rigid right arm (118) and a rigid left arm (120), each comprising: an attachment portion (122) fastened to a respective side of the dome (102); and a substantially horizontal portion (130) projecting forwards from the attachment portion (122) at a distance from the bottom edge (105) of the dome (102) and presenting a front end (132) that is free; so as to form a reception space (134) between the bottom edge (105) of the dome (102) and the arm (118, 120) under consideration for receiving an ear of the user of the protective helmet (102), the reception space (134) being open towards the front and being defined, towards the back and downwards, by the arm (118, 120) under consideration, and upwards by the bottom edge (105) of the dome (102); and a flexible strap (138) fastened between the two front ends (132) of the arms (118, 120).
 2. The protective helmet (100) according to claim 1, wherein the substantially horizontal portion (130) has a horizontal length of at least 40 mm, and all along its horizontal length it lies at least 40 mm away from the bottom edge (105) of the dome (102).
 3. The protective helmet (100) according to claim 1, wherein the reception space (134) presents a height of at least 60 mm at the front.
 4. The protective helmet (100) according to claim 1, wherein each arm presents a front edge (136) that is concave towards the front with a length of at least 50 mm and having a radius of curvature that varies at most by 1 mm per millimeter along the front edge (136).
 5. The protective helmet (100) according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion (122) separates into a front branch (124) and a back branch (126) that are fastened to the dome (102) respectively in a back fastening zone and in a front fastening zone, which zones are spaced apart from each other.
 6. The protective helmet (100) according to claim 1, wherein the dome (102) comprises: a rigid outer shell (106); a shock-absorber layer (108) arranged inside the outer shell (106); a rigid inner shell (110) arranged inside the shock-absorber layer (108); and padding (112) arranged inside the inner shell (110).
 7. The protective helmet (100) according to claim 1, wherein the strap (138) is made of leather and/or of fabric, e.g. a nylon fabric. 